The Louis Armstrong Discography

Louis Armstrong was one of the most important musicians of the 20th
century - an artist who blasted the music of the world out of a tired
tradition of classic orchestra and mundane Tin Pan Alley pop into the
exciting era of hot jazz. Not single-handedly, admittedly; but setting
a new standard that surpassed everything that came before and providing
a vital reference point for the music that came after.

Armstrong's dominant gift was a sense of "Swing", a stylistic
quality that defies accurate description but is obvious to the ear. This
attractive quality of his playing transformed jazz from a genre dominated
by ensembles to one that featured lengthy solos. Tying it all together
was an infectious charisma that propelled him to popular stardom in
a new era of sound film and electronic communication.

Born in 1901, his life paralleled many of the twists and turns of the
middle century. In the twenties, he stunned his jazz peers with a
unique instrumental originality and the thirties saw him rise
to the top of the pop music echelon, as his peerless personality swept up
admiring listeners of all colors. The forties brought both a sinking of
fortunes, with a ban on recording during the war, and a bold resurgence at
the end of the decade. By the fifties, Louis' voice mellowed into an
evocative instrument of its own, capable of elevating a novelty like
"Mack the Knife" or a ballad like "That Old Feeling"
into timeless mementos. Even in his final years, though deprived of the
facility to make his famous cornet produce the kind of stirring sound that
first brought him recognition, Louis Armstrong had the clout to create his
most famous hits.

Armstrong' cacophonous century would lead to somewhat better treatment
of African-Americans by the larger culture, but Armstrong had the misfortune
of leaving the world at a moment when his congenial manner and omnipresent
smile were often viewed as symbols of an archaic paradigm for interracial
relations. While the generation of jazzmen that followed Armstrong engaged
in a somber search for identity that led them to explore radically disparate
styles, dissonances and technologies, Armstrong stuck throughout his life to
the populist swinging style that he grew up with and was comfortable in. History is
proving to be somewhat kinder to Armstrong than his contemporaries, generally
cherishing his spark of transformational artistry while accepting that
he was an entertainer and man who had to adapt to the world he was given.

Like all the finer things, Armstrong is a developed taste, one of life's
contemplative pleasures; once sampled, once appreciated, his music and
charm are open to be savored over and over, with a fresh enjoyment each
time. It is as a modest gesture of admiration that this site is presented
in his honor.